At the LAC, the Chinese soldiers had to change the risk of their lives, to 50 per cent

New Delhi, Dt

On the Ladakh front, China has repeatedly resorted to deception in the Himalayas against the conflict with India. China is now squabbling over the issue after agreeing to withdraw troops from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. China has now vehemently refused to withdraw troops from Gogra-Hot Spring. However, the lives of Chinese troops stationed in the Himalayan mountains, one of the most inaccessible battlefields in the world, are in danger. They could not withstand the cold of the Himalayas. For the same reason, China has had to replace 70 percent of its troops in a year and replace the old ones with new ones.

A government official said China had deployed an estimated 50,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control in the Ladakh region last year, but Chinese troops could not cope with the Himalayan cold there. As a result China has now recruited new troops from other surrounding areas. Bad weather has worsened the condition of Chinese troops. India, on the other hand, also changes its personnel every year, but India does not need to change all its personnel. India only transfers about 50 to 60 per cent of its troops.

The Indo-China conflict in eastern Ladakh is almost a year old. The border dispute between India and China started in May last year and tensions on the border escalated after a clash between the two countries' armies in the Galvan Valley on June 15. The two countries began talks after a long time to resolve the dispute, but it has not been resolved yet.

Indo-China diplomats and corps commanders held 11 rounds of talks in which China agreed to maintain the status quo on the border and withdraw troops. Following the agreement, China and India began withdrawing troops from Pangong Tso Lake, which was completed this year. But now China has started cheating again. China has vehemently refused to withdraw troops from other strategic locations in the Himalayas. After Pangong Tso Lake, China was to withdraw its troops from Gogra and Hot Springs.

India has also recently urged China to withdraw its troops from strategic locations to improve bilateral relations between the two countries. But now China says the decision to withdraw troops from the area needs to be made by local-level commandos rather than at the corps commander level.

A date for the 12th round of talks between the two armies is to be set through a hotline, but China has not taken any initiative in this regard. India has also made it clear that China must withdraw its troops. Sources close to the matter said that China wants the withdrawal of troops from the Gogra-Hot Spring area to take place at the level of local commanders. There is no need to call a special meeting for this. It is clear from this that China does not want to resolve this dispute as soon as possible, even though the lives of its soldiers are in danger. Apart from Gogra-Hot Spring, the armies of the two countries are also facing each other in Depsang. However there has been no change in the status quo during the conflict.